STOCKHOLM - July 7, 2009: The historic venue of Alexandra Palace in London provided a fitting
backdrop today (Tuesday 7th July) for the world debut of the first of a
new generation of highly fuel efficient and environmentally friendly
Volvo Hybrid Double Deck buses to arrive in London.

A total of six Volvo B5L Hybrid Double Deck buses have recently
entered service on Route 141 in the UK's capital city and representatives
from Volvo Bus and Arriva London, together with other stakeholders
gathered to formally mark another historic occasion at the Alexandra Palace.

Back in 1936 the BBC made the first public broadcast to the world of
High Definition Television – then a new technology which was to
subsequently become part of everyday life worldwide. More than
seventy
years on, hybrid technology now moves from development phase to full
commercial reality, as part of the drive to deliver significant
reductions in fuel consumption and emissions in the public transport
arena.

Click PLAY to watch short video of the new hybrid bus in London

The buses features the parallel hybrid I-SAM technology, developed
across the entire Volvo Group. It is a hybrid in that the bus is
powered
by a combination of an electric motor and a diesel engine, with the
system being parallel in that it can be powered by either source
independently, or in combination drawing on both power sources at the
same time.

The new Hybrid Double Deck buses offer savings both in terms of fuel
consumption and emissions. Evidence from test tack development and in
service field trials with Arriva London show significant savings in
fuel
consumption and carbon dioxide (C02) emissions as well as reduction
in
Nitrous Oxides and particulates.

The introduction of the new Volvo B5L Hybrid Double Deck bus follows
hot
on the heels of the introduction of the Volvo 7700 Hybrid Single Deck
in
May in Volvo’s home city of Gothenburg in Sweden. It is also part of
an
on-going programme across the entire Volvo Group, which includes
Trucks,
Construction Equipment as well as Buses. With longer intervals
between
bus stops in Gothenburg, the expected fuel savings there was 20-25%.
The
first months of service shows better then expected fuel savings,
about
30%.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Senior Vice President Volvo Buses
Europe, Stefan Nordström said, “We are delighted to formally handover
our first six Hybrid Double Deck Buses to Arriva London. The advanced
parallel hybrid technology on these vehicles, unique to the Volvo
Group,
offers significant fuel savings and resultant C02 reductions, as well
as
significant air quality and noise benefits for other road users.”

He added, “The continuing trend in ever higher fuel prices means that
the payback period on the incremental capital cost of this technology
is
being further reduced, making investment in hybrid vehicles a viable
option for an ever increasing number of cities in Europe and beyond.”

Accepting delivery of the first Volvo Hybrid Double Decks, Managing
Director of Arriva London Mark Yexley commented, “With the support of
Transport for London, this is a pioneering project for Arriva to be
involved with. These six vehicles will provide an excellent
opportunity
to assess the benefits and the whole life cost proposition of hybrid
technology in a real life day to day operating environment.”